- The short answer is no. What medical schools really look for is not that you’ve done every stereotypical pre-med activity, but rather that you are passionate about what you are doing. For example, participating in one activity or club in depth is much better than doing a bunch of activities superficially, as if to simply be able to write them on a resume or an application. In your interviews and your personal statement a superficial experience isn’t going to get you very far. So really, do what’s good for your soul and what speaks to you. However, your choices in these activities might actually reflect how suitable you are for medical school.

This is where the answer becomes complicated: shouldn’t the two usually overlap when it comes to a student who truly is interested in studying medicine? If you’re pre-med but your own choices of extracurricular activities (without expectations and peer pressure) rarely are directly related to medicine, then we must question your true passion. This is not to say that it’s not okay to have activities and interests outside of the pre-med life: I encourage that! It’s great! It’ll prevent burnout! But do your other interests convene into another field? Perhaps that could be another career path to think about.

Do what your heart wants, but keep that in perspective of your ultimate goals. How do they fit into the picture of you being a doctor?